


Tunnel

by HashtagMC



Category: Half-Life
Genre: Blood and Violence, Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Gun Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-09
Updated: 2018-06-09
Packaged: 2019-06-11 07:24:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15310371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HashtagMC/pseuds/HashtagMC
Summary: They said Freeman was coming. Leon had told them the news just a few hours ago, when the early shift began. The One Free Man, they called him. The days of the Combine were numbered, Leon had said. Freeman would liberate them, once and for all.





	Tunnel

**Author's Note:**

> I originally wrote this story as an entry for PlanetPhillip's "Untold Stories" fanfiction event and a month after the release finally thought to ask him if the event rules allowed reposting it elsewhere. They did, so here it is. I set the publishing date to 9 June 2018 (posted here 16 July 2018) because that's when the event entries were posted on RunThinkShootLive.
> 
> You can find the event and original entry here: https://www.runthinkshootlive.com/posts/untold-stories-fan-fiction-event/

REPORT 20xx-xx-05 – 2307 HOURS

ANTICITIZEN ONE HAS LEFT BLACK MESA EAST WITH UNKNOWN DESTINATION – INVESTIGATION OF SEIZED RESISTANCE COMPOUND SUGGESTS THE TARGET TO HAVE MOVED TOWARDS SITE #2256 – TARGET IS DUE TO REACH SETTLEMENT KNOWN AS ‘SHOREPOINT’ IN 0936 HOURS – STRIKE FORCE IS TO BE DISPATCHED TO PREPARE ANTICITIZEN ONE’S ARREST

They said Freeman was coming. Leon had told them the news just a few hours ago, when the early shift began. Apparently, he’d heard it right from the source during his weekly report to Miss Vance.  
Freeman was coming, Winston thought while absent-mindedly cradling his gun. Finally, a light at the end of the tunnel. Finally, after twenty years’ worth of back and forth, of raids on Combine patrols and subsequent Combine attacks on resistance outposts, the whole dam misery was coming to an end.  
The One Free Man, they called him. The days of the Combine were numbered, Leon had said. Freeman would liberate them, once and for all. Winston was curious how one man would accomplish that, but Leon had said he would, and Winston believed Leon. Leon was usually right about most things.

REPORT 20xx-xx-06 – 0813 HOURS

ANTICITIZEN ONE HAS BEEN SPOTTED LEAVING SITE #2256 – ALL UNITS ARE TO ENGAGE THE TARGET UPON SIGHT – UNIT #0415 HAS FAILED TO REPORT FOR DUTY AFTER MAKING CONTACT WITH THE TARGET – STRIKE FORCE #1138 IS TO ANNIHILATE THE SETTLEMENT KNOWN AS ‘SHOREPOINT’ IN DUE TIME TO BRING IN ANTICITIZEN ONE

Winston’s train of thought abruptly stopped the second the first shot interrupted the silence. And just like that, everything went pear-shaped.  
The bullet hit the wall right next to him, ricocheting off into nowhere, and he pulled the trigger of his weapon, blindly firing into the vague direction of the attackers while frantically screaming for Daniel to assist him. Bullets were flung at half a dozen Overwatch troopers at 857 rounds per minute as Daniel, too, opened fire. Out of the corner of his eye, Winston saw more soldiers closing in on the base while he retreated into the base, emptying bursts of ammo into the morning air until his gun uselessly clicked in his hand.  
Even without him screaming bloody murder, Gwen, Jacob and Leon had already worked out what was happening. Winston quickly discarded the empty magazine and grabbed a new one while Jacob and Gwen took position on both sides of the entrance before simultaneously turning round the corner with their weapons drawn.  
They were met with a wall of bullets.

REPORT 20xx-xx-06 – 0831 HOURS

‘SHOREPOINT’ RAID IN PROGRESS – ENEMY CASUALTIES 1, STRIKE FORCE CASUALTIES 0 – GROUND FORCES HAVE ENTERED THE MAIN BUILDING – ANTICITIZEN ONE DUE TO ARRIVE IN 0012 HOURS

Jacob didn’t scream. It was the most eerie thing Winston had ever seen. One moment, Jacob fired his shotgun in the face of a soldier, the next, he was on the floor, more blood flowing out of his chest than there should even be in a human body.  
Leon cried out and filled the enemy trooper’s head with lead for good before quickly scooping up his comrade and half-carrying, half-dragging him into the back towards the least filthy corner of the back room, the corner they had dubbed the infirmary a while ago.  
Winston had never thought they’d need an infirmary for real.  
There was gunfire outside and he wondered if Daniel was even still alive.  
Suddenly, the characteristic THUMP THUMP THUMP of the Overwatch pulse rifles fell silent and Winston wondered if that meant that Daniel was dead or if something had interrupted the attackers’ bloody work.  
He stopped caring when something hit him in the chest and suddenly there was pain everywhere and he couldn’t breathe anymore and when had he gotten blood all over his hands?

REPORT – 20xx-xx-06 – 0845 HOURS

RADIO CONTACT WITH STRIKE FORCE #1138 LOST – LAST REPORT CONFIRMS ANTICITIZEN ONE SIGHTED AND ENGAGED – STATUS OF REMAINING RESISTANCE COMBATANTS UNKNOWN – ENEMY CASUALTIES 2, PRESUMED STRIKE FORCE CASUALTIES 10 – GROUND AND AIR UNITS ARE TO BE DISPATCHED TO KNOWN ANTICIVIL SETTLEMENTS IN THE AREA

They had said Freeman was coming and come he had. They had finally reached the light at the end of the tunnel and left the darkness behind. Through the blur of shock and pain and the sound of voices calling his name, Winston thought he’d seen an orange figure walk by, stopping for a second to look down at him before following somebody who led Freeman away from him.  
Someone was crying and then there were hands, carrying him away and taking off his clothes and somebody called for a medic over and over again and at some point his vision became even more blurry.  
The Freeman had come, but sometimes, the light at the end of the tunnel turned out to be a train coming at you.  
Winston’s world went black.


End file.
